Dr. McKechnie is the Interim Pastor at Sardis Presbyterian Church. Dave reveals, "I wake up enthusiastic about each new day-anticipating new things happening in my life, in the lives of my family, and in the lives of other members of the Body of Christ." Join us at Sardis Presbyterian Church for worship at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. each Sunday.

Friday, August 26, 2016

They call it an Inspiration Log. I do not know the
source but it sure has proven helpful for me. The intent is to do some
reflective homework. It challenges me to filter out the most life-giving
inspirational moments in a day and the most life-draining moments in a
day. This exercise helped me sense God’s presence in any given day. It provoked me to assess the investments I make daily.

When did I give and receive the most love today?

When did I give and receive the least love
today?

When did I feel the most alive today?

When did I feel life draining out of me?

When today did I have the greatest sense of
belonging to myself, others, God and the universe?

When did I have the least sense of belonging?

When was I happiest today?

When was I saddest?

What was today’s high point?

What was today’s low point?

Demands some reflection, doesn’t it? I urge you to
talk about these with your spouse, children, family, friends or significant
other. I dare to believe that will be an interesting conversation.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Pastoral ministry today requires a new kind of pastoral
leadership. Change is coming at us at warp speed.

Here are six shifts in our culture, courtesy of ER McManus.

From Christian world-view to pluralistic world
views

From Western influence to Eastern influence

From secular debate to syncretistic dialogue

From homogenous to multicultural

From suburbs/local to cities/global

From word/books to images/film

The context for ministry is in a state of flux. These
cultural shifts demand spiritual leadership that is fresh to face our emerging
challenges.

How is pastoral ministry changing?

From teaching to leadershipfrom

Education to equipping

From organization to mobilization

From tradition to creativity

From pastoral to missional

From called by a Church to sent to a community

In essence, new pastors need to be cross-cultural
missionaries. We need futurists. Yes, we must exegete the
Scriptures and exegete the culture as well. No longer can the Church in America
focus on maintenance. Missional is the defining word for today’s Christian
witness. Visionaries are not only welcome but also, a must!

Friday, August 12, 2016

The Pelicano is a rusty, old, 466 foot freighter. Yes,
she was seaworthy but definitely unwanted. Her list of rejections are
noteworthy; New Jersey, Georgia, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the
Antilles, Honduras, the Netherlands, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Why all the
rejections? What’s with this unwanted ship?

The Pelicano was loaded with fifteen thousand tons, or
twenty eight million pounds, of Philadelphia’s trash from the summer of
1986. The sanitation workers went on strike. Philadelphia’s waste
was burned and the refuse was dumped into the ships’ four holds. Nobody wanted
that cargo! Too toxic. Too old. Too much. At last report,
somewhere near Singapore, the ash was dumped into the Indian Ocean. Remember the Pelicano – the world’s unwanted ship.

Unwanted! We have all felt that from neighbors, coworkers,
teachers, team members, friends, and even family. Life has a way of
dumping toxic stuff on us. Loads of anger, bitterness, bigotry, deceit,
guilt, jealousy, and hate, all dumped on us. That stuff contaminates our
self-esteem and all of our relationships. Remember, trash ultimately
stinks! Others will smell it!

The moral? Don’t let that trash pile up. The
Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth and said,

Friday, August 5, 2016

Number 169 in our new hymnal, Glory to God, is my
favorite hymn. It is titled, “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind.” If
that sexist title is offensive, there is an alternate title, “Dear Lord,
Creator Good and Kind.”

John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a long poem called The
Brewing of Soma. Out of that poem came the inspiration for this
hymn. Whittier does not ignore the dissonant voice of his age. In
doing so, he speaks to our age. “The earthquake, wind and fire”
contribute to the “strain and stress” in which we live. We need the
“still, small voice of calm.”

Ephesians 5:16 calls on us to, “Redeem the time.” A
more current translation would say, “Make the most of your time.” We need
serenity. We need silence. Where is quietness in our lives? We need to take time to get acquainted with our true selves. Who am
I? Do I matter? Why am I here? Without silence, can we hear
the counsel of God?